


Hello Again

by DarkReyna16



Category: Miraculous Ladybug, The Sims (Video Games)
Genre: 2nd Generation Miraculous Kids, Also there's a kid, F/M, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Tumblr Fic, broken hearts and past regrets, parental meddling, reunions with people you had a falling out with are awkward, sibling meddling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-29
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2018-12-08 09:45:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11643954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkReyna16/pseuds/DarkReyna16
Summary: Louis Agreste's life has changed drastically in the five or so years Piper Cesaire walked out of it. One mistake one night led to the best thing that ever happened to him: his beautiful daughter Mariposa. But when his ex-best friend/almost lover suddenly stumbles her way across his path again, and his daughter takes a shine to her, Louis realizes that his karmic debt from all the hell he raised when he was young is coming full-circle much sooner than he anticipated.





	1. Who's Your Daddy?

**Author's Note:**

> Soooo, for those of you who don't follow my Tumblr, this is a fic I accidentally fell into while obsessively following the tumblr blog miracusims, which documents and records the sim lives of Marinette, Adrien, Alya, and Nino. At this point, the original four are middle-aged and married with kids, who are mostly grown up.
> 
> The Agrestes' third child, Louis, and the Cesaires' daughter, Piper, have been friends since childhood, and Piper developed a crush on Louis early on, only for Louis to be completely oblivious to this fact. As they grew into young adults, more shenanigans ensued, but if you want the details, you're better off checking the blog for yourself. It's not required that you know what happened on Miracusims to read this story, though; I'll give you plenty of context clues to be able to make inferences for yourself~
> 
> In any case, enjoy! <3
> 
> ~Reyna

Okay, fiddle with a code here, enter a new algorithm there–whoa, seriously? Someone was trying to trace him? _Really?_

Louis snorted and ducked through another digital backdoor, leading the tracer astray with a false IP address. Once that was done, he continued on with his work, smirking all the while. This was _way_ too easy at this point–either Louis had gotten way too good at what he does, or his targets just kept getting dumber and dumber. Either way, this was basically child’s play now.

There was a small tap to his arm, and Louis paused.

Speaking of children…

“Yes, my butterfly princess?” Louis asked, wrapping up his work to turn and smile at his _adorable_ daughter, who might have her absent mother’s dark hair, but she had his face, and his eyes. She was clad in her fourth favorite fairy princess outfit today, her plastic crown sitting dutifully atop her brown locks as she patted the table with her hands, lower lip jutting out in a pout.

“I’m hungry,” she said softly, patting her stomach to be sure her meaning came across. Mariposa was a soft-spoken child; because she often had trouble hearing others without her hearing aids, she didn’t like to speak too much unless it was with someone she knew, and even then, she tended to be very hushed. But Louis was attuned to her enough by now that her soft voice was never an issue.

“I know, sweetie,” Louis assured her, lowering the top of his laptop for a moment to give his daughter his full attention. “Food will be coming soon; just wait a little longer. Oh, and Grandma and Auntie Emma are coming to eat breakfast with us! Isn’t that nice?”

Mariposa’s eyes lit up.

“I like Grandma and Auntie Emma,” she gushed with a heart-melting smile that made Louis’ heart soar and ache at the same time. He was so, _so_ glad to have access to female role models for his daughter; everyone thought he was crazy for raising a child on his own at so young an age, but really, it wasn’t like he wasn’t without help when he needed it.

“I’m glad,” he said, kissing Mariposa’s forehead before nudging some crayons the restaurant had given her towards her. “They’ll be here soon. Right now, Daddy has to finish up some work, so can you wait for a couple minutes?”

“Okay.”

“There’s my good girl.”

Louis lost himself in coding and hacking for a little longer, until a familiar pair of voices and laughter intruded upon his subconscious. He quickly shut his laptop and dropped it into his messenger bag under the table, hitching on a grin as Emma and their mother, Marinette, appeared, looking like they were laughing and joking about something as he waved them over.

“There’s my brother!” Emma enthused, leaning over to embrace him. “You know, you missed the last dinner party Lotte and I had…”

“Sorry, I had to work,” Louis replied with a cringe, getting up to kiss his mother’s cheek, who glanced around them in confusion.

“Louis, where’s my granddaughter? I thought you were bringing Mariposa to breakfast, too…”

“Oh, she’s right–”

When Louis turned around and saw his daughter’s empty chair, his good mood vanished immediately.

“Oh no…Mari? Mari, where are you? Mariposa!” Louis shouted, when crouching under the table did not reveal Mariposa’s location to him.

Emma’s eyes widened.

“You…didn’t _lose_ her, did you…?”

“No! She was right here! Mariposa! MARIPOSA!”

“Calm down, Louis!” Marinette insisted, taking her son’s shoulders and squeezing them, a determined fire blazing in her bluebell eyes; not even age could stop her when one of her own was threatened. “We will find her. For now, let’s just split up and search the restaurant. I’ll speak to the manager, and you two ask if any of the staff or the other customers have seen Mari, all right?”

“Oh…okay,” Louis said, forcing himself to breathe, though it did little to loosen the anxious ball in his chest. He was a single father–this _exact_ scenario was one of his _worst_ recurring nightmares. Damn it! Why didn’t he pay more attention?! What if she had gotten kidnapped right from under his nose?! Oooh, when he found the bastard who dared to touch his daughter, he was going to doxx him _so hard_ –

 

* * *

 

 

As the bus left the bus stop, Piper sighed, brushing a hand over her short hair. It felt weird to have it this length again, almost like she had regressed to her teenage years, but her red braids had stuck out a little too much, and therefore were impractical for the mission she had just completed at last, after four long years of being undercover, with no contact with her friends and family whatsoever…

Piper glanced around her, not surprised that she barely recognized anything; it was the city, after all. Things were always changing here.

Picking up her bag and slinging it over her shoulder, Piper idly patted her stomach as it rumbled uncomfortably. Right, she hadn’t eaten anything since last night…maybe she’d stop by a food kiosk and grab something to go on the way to her parents’ place. Piper smiled, thinking of the look on her mother’s face when Piper showed up unannounced, about all the things she had to tell her father (though some of the details were classified, unfortunately), and everything Dom would want to catch her up on…

Piper paused, frowning to herself. The noises of the city were just as she remembered them–loud. But the reason Piper was so good at a job not many others could do was because she had keen senses. And right now, though the ambience of San Myshuno threatened to overwhelm her, Piper was sure she could hear the snifflings of a child…a child nearby…?

Following her instincts, Piper stepped closer to the building nearest to her, side-stepping a harried looking man who appeared late for work, her eyes narrowing as she edged her way around what looked like a bagel shop, tilting her head to listen.

Yes, the crying was getting louder. She moved further into an alleyway, wrinkling her nose at the smell of the dumpster in front of her. For a moment, she stared at it, wondering if the crying was coming from there (and appropriately horrified if it was), but she peeked in and found nothing. Yet the crying still persisted…

Piper peeked around the edge of the dumpster, and it was there that she found the source of the crying: what looked to be a young girl, her head buried in her arms as her purple princess dress was ruffled up underneath her, her tiara slumping sideways on her head. Pity swelled within Piper, and she crouched down in front of the girl.

“Hello?” She called softly, “are you okay?”

The girl did not respond, and so Piper tried again.

“Hello? Miss? What’s the matter? Do you need help?”

Still, the child cried. Piper bit her lip, wondering if she should just mind her own business. But it wasn’t like she could just leave the girl to her own devices; someone was probably looking for her. And what kind of person would Piper be if she just left a lost child on her own…?

Resolving to try one more time, Piper carefully tapped the child’s arm.

The girl jolted; apparently, she hadn’t realized someone was there. Piper hastened to put on a friendly smile as she met the girl’s tear-filled eyes…huh. That…was strange. Piper rather felt…well, it was probably nothing, but those eyes…why were they familiar…?

Pushing past it, Piper spoke to the girl once again.

“Hello. Are you okay? Do you need help?”

The girl stared at her. Piper kept her smile, but her brows furrowed a little.

“Where are your mommy and daddy? Are you lost?”

Still, the girl stared. Her lips trembled, and a shaking hand touched her ear. This made Piper curious. Could the girl…not hear her?

Working on her hunch, Piper brought up her hands, gesturing first to the girl, and then bringing her hands in, twirling her index fingers around each other.

“ _Do you know sign language?_ ”

The girl’s eyes widened, and she brought up a fist, gesturing as if she was knocking.

“ _Yes!”_

Oh thank god, common ground. Piper smiled and continued to sign, mouthing the words as she went, even though the girl was mainly watching her hands.

“ _Do you need help?_ ”

“ _Yes!_ ” The girl signed again, looking tearful once more. “ _I don’t know where I am! I lost my hearing aids!_ ”

Ah. Well, naturally, that made things ten times scarier, didn’t it? Poor thing.

“ _I will help you,_ ” Piper promised, smiling gently at the girl with strangely familiar eyes. “ _Do you know where your mommy is?_ ”

The girl’s face fell, and she glanced down as she raised her index and middle finger twice, tapping them against her thumb.

“ _No._ ”

Uh-oh. Why did Piper feel like she touched a nerve?

“ _How about your daddy?_ ” She tried, hoping against hope that she wasn’t wedging her foot further into her mouth with this question. She watched as the child bit her lip, glancing around.

“ _I don’t know…I went outside to find my grandma, but then I got lost…_ ”

Hmm.

“ _Do you remember where you were when you went outside?_ ”

The girl’s face scrunched up in concentration, and Piper tried not to smile. But she was such a cute little girl, probably no older than five. Sitting here in her pretty purple princess dress and tiara, how could Piper _not_ find her adorable?

But then the girl signed something strange. Piper raised an eyebrow, repeating the sign to verify that that was indeed what the girl meant, because if Piper’s sign language was correct (and it should be, since she studied religiously), the girl was talking about some kind of blue elephant. But that couldn’t be right…could it?

Curious now, Piper pulled out her phone, typing in ‘blue elephant’ in the search bar of her internet app. As she waited for it to load, she glanced up, smiling again at the girl, for she had taken to staring at her again.

“ _I’m Piper,_ ” she told the girl, “ _nice to meet you._ ”

“ _My name is Mariposa,_ ” the girl replied. Piper grinned.

“ _That’s a pretty name._ ”

Mariposa smiled, her cheeks dimpling, and Piper had to control the urge to squish the child’s cheeks. They were on a first name basis, sure, but that didn’t mean she could just casually touch her…

Her phone chimed, and Piper glanced down, raising her eyebrows at the results that popped up. Well, look at that–there was a fusion restaurant called “Ao Zo” a couple blocks away. Piper had never heard of it…but then again, she _had_ been gone for a few years…

“ _Let’s go find your dad,_ ” Piper said, straightening up and offering her hand to Mariposa. She hesitated, and abruptly, Piper realized how sketchy this situation might look to an outsider. “ _Your daddy told you not to trust strangers, huh?_ ”

Mariposa slowly nodded. Piper smiled, crouching down again to meet Mariposa’s eyes.

“ _I understand. Do you want to wait here so I can bring your daddy to you?_ ”

Mariposa’s eyes widened, and she swiftly shook her head. Ooh, that wasn’t a good idea either, was it? She could totally get snatched the minute Piper’s back was turned… _that_ would be a fun explanation to give to her father…

Piper sighed softly as she tried to think of a way to avoid making the kid uncomfortable while reuniting with her father, pushing her hair out of her face. She startled when Mariposa abruptly jumped to her feet, blinking as Mariposa, with wide eyes, grabbed her wrist and tugged it forward.

“What–oh,” Piper said, laughing a little as Mariposa stared, apparently entranced by the tiny fox tattoo on her forearm. “Yeah, that’s–”

“The fox!” Mariposa squeaked out loud, startling Piper again. Whoa, this kid was just full of surprises. “You’re the fox!”

“Uh?” Piper began, totally confused. Sure, she had a fox tattoo, but that didn’t mean she _was_ a fox–well, not that she was unattractive, she was _very_ attractive, and she knew it, but…okay, things were a bit off-track here. Why was she being likened to a fox again?

Whatever the reason, Mariposa was certainly excited now; she didn’t seem to be interested in signing anymore as she pulled on Piper’s wrist, heading down the alleyway.

“Come on, come on! You have to see my daddy!”

“Whoa–Kid, slow down!” Piper called after the girl, though she knew it was useless, since Mariposa had her back to Piper as she rushed forward, back onto the sidewalk and through a couple crosswalks that were (THANKFULLY) green. For someone so small, she sure had a lot of energy…

A blue elephant sign crossed Piper’s line of vision for a brief moment, and she was relieved that the place was so close–

“Excuse me! Ma’am, have you seen this girl? Look, this is her–she’s about this tall, and her name is–no? Okay, uh, sir! Sir, do you have a minute? Please, sir, my daughter is–”

That voice…

Mariposa pulled Piper through the crowded intersection in front of the restaurant, and it was finally here that Piper dug in her heels, pulling Mariposa to a stop with her…for right before her very eyes was–

“Excuse me, have you seen–!”

Familiar green eyes met hers. Piper stared, surprised into stillness as the blonde man before her lowered his phone, his mouth open.

“…Piper,” Louis breathed, and something Piper thought long buried and dead stuttered to life inside her, a tiny flame flickering–

She quickly snuffed it out and shut her expression down. No, she was _not_ going to do this. It had been _years_ since she last spoke to Louis, years since she last saw him. Things had changed, and she was different now. She had _moved on, damn it!_

In fact, she was ready to move on right here and now, ready to march away without looking back–

The little hand clutching hers let go, and before Piper could stop her, Mariposa flew at Louis, crying, “Daddy!”

“Mari!” Louis cried, kneeling down and clutching the girl to him tightly, relief flooding his features before he pulled back, his brows coming together as he said sternly, “I was worried _sick!_ You should know better than to–wait, where are your hearing aids?”

…There was no way this was real life.

Piper must have stumbled into some alternate universe after she had come back from being undercover for so long. Things were different, but they couldn’t be _that_ different! Because there was no way– _no way in hell_ –that Louis was _actually_ …

“…Did she just say…‘ _Daddy_ ’?”


	2. The One That Got Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't anticipate updating this too regularly, even when I finish BTU. *Eyes Ch. 36 lurking in a corner* I SEE YOU OVER THERE...
> 
> Ahem, but I have three chapters of this already written, so y'all can have 'em all at once. XP
> 
> Enjoy! <3
> 
> ~Reyna

Piper had done a lot of things in the past four years that she was not at liberty to discuss, things that sometimes led to awkward situations, depending on what she was doing and whether or not she was supposed to be seen doing it.

But this… _this_ was a situation that was most awkward, and her training had absolutely failed to prepare her for it.

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…”

‘ _Just say_ something,’ she inwardly urged herself as she sat ramrod straight beside her ex-best friend and almost-lover, the pair of them watching Emma and Marinette play with Mariposa on the swing set. They had been silent ever since they’d gotten there, after an awkward breakfast Marinette had insisted Piper join, as thanks for finding her granddaughter. Honestly, Piper hadn’t meant to tag along this far, but Mariposa had insisted that she come play, only to have her attention stolen by her grandmother and her aunt, leaving Piper to sit nearby…

…Next to Mariposa’s father. Louis.

Louis had a daughter.

 _Louis_ had a _daughter._

Piper kept saying it over and over again in her head, but the words still refused to make sense. Just what was going on here?

As much as she wanted to run from this scene, as much as a part of her did not _want_ to understand this new part of Louis’ life, Piper had already learned that running from something unpleasant did not make it go away. If she wanted answers…well, the horse’s mouth was sitting right next to her, wasn’t he?

Piper cleared her throat gently, glancing over at Louis—to find him suddenly averting his eyes, as if he had been watching her this whole time. Piper frowned, unsure of how she felt about that.

“…So,” she began, deciding to state the obvious first, “…you’re a dad now.”

Louis glanced over at her briefly before his eyes returned to his daughter, and something sharp twisted in Piper’s chest at the way his gaze softened when he looked at Mariposa.

“…Yeah,” he confirmed. He seemed to have nothing more to add, so Piper decided to suck it up and be the bigger person.

“Congratulations,” she said, watching Mariposa giggle as Emma and Marinette took turns pushing her on the swing. “She’s cute.”

“Thanks.”

“She…has your eyes.”

Piper felt Louis glance at her, but she couldn’t make herself meet his gaze.

“I know,” he answered. Now Piper was beginning to get annoyed. He wasn’t going to bother to explain himself on his own, was he?

“So,” Piper tried again, doing her best to sound casual as she forced the question through her teeth, “when was the wedding?”

The last she’d heard before she went undercover, Louis had been whoring his way through Oasis Springs…not that she _wanted_ to know this information, but her brother was dating Louis’ sister, so by association…in any case, apparently, a _lot_ had changed while she’d been gone. So, where was Louis’ beautiful blushing bride, acquired through what Piper could only assume was a shotgun wedding?

The last thing Piper expected was for Louis to snort derisively.

“What wedding?” He asked dryly, smirking when Piper looked at him. (Oh god, that look was so familiar, Piper _hated_ it.) “This is the 21 st Century. I can have a kid without a wedding.”

Piper blinked. It was the only expression of surprise she allowed herself to make.

Wait…so…he wasn’t married…?

“So…you and Mariposa’s mom share custody, then?” She guessed. Louis’ smirk faded, and he shook his head.

“No.” His eyes tightened as he watched Mariposa ride around on Emma’s back as they took a walk around the playground. “Mari’s mom…isn’t in the picture.”

What?

“What?” Piper asked, because she could not comprehend this. What did he mean, ‘not in the picture’? How could she not be in the picture?

Louis glanced over at her, and Piper was almost shocked to find that he looked guarded…but then she remembered that they weren’t friends anymore, and he didn’t owe her any explanations.

He seemed to come to the same conclusion; he leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees as he watched his daughter play.

“She’s just not around.” His tone closed the subject, but it only served to confuse Piper more.

“So…you’re raising Mariposa…on your own?”

Louis let out a breath, as if he had grown weary of being asked that question.

“Yes,” he said, defiant. “And yes, I know I’m young, but she’s _my_ daughter, and I’m doing all I can to do right by her, and absolutely _no one_ will take her away from me.”

The way he looked at her just then sent a chill down Piper’s spine, and suddenly, she realized it: the man who sat beside her now was no longer the boy she remembered, nor the man she had done her damnedest to forget. He was…completely other.

Piper swallowed.

“Sorry,” she apologized, tearing her gaze away from Louis to stare at the ground, automatically raising a hand to push her hair out of her face. Damn it, that was a tell, she thought she had gotten that under control— “I’m just…surprised is all.” She peeked up at him for a second. “You know…never would’ve pegged you for a young dad.”

There was something there, in Louis’ eyes…something that twinkled in a familiar way for a moment…but then he blinked, and it was gone, replaced with a stranger’s eyes.

“Things have changed, Piper,” he said quietly. Piper kept his gaze, giving a slow nod.

“Yeah,” she agreed. “They have.”

“Daddy!”

The moment—wait, no, _not_ moment, just a conversation, for god’s sake—was interrupted by an energetic ball with purple fairy wings attached as she whizzed towards them, collapsing into a giggling fit in Louis’ lap. And Piper watched, that violent twisting from before occurring again as Louis smiled a smile Piper had never seen before as he lifted his daughter into the air, and said in a loving voice Piper had never heard before,

“There’s my princess! I missed you, Mari. Did you have fun with Grandma and Aunt Emma?”

“Yeah!” Mariposa cheered, and Piper couldn’t help but smile; she was so much more energetic now. Maybe she was just shy around strangers? In any case, her energy seemed to have worn her aunt and grandmother out; Marinette and Emma were resting on a nearby bench, and Piper couldn’t help but snicker.

As Louis set her down in his lap, Mariposa turned in his grip, smiling brightly at Piper, her cheeks dimpling. Piper had not been expecting it, so her hand went over her heart, her inner voice squealing ‘ _SO CUTE!!_ ’ at the top of its lungs. Oh boy…this girl was dangerous…

“Hi,” Mariposa said, sounding so pleased that Piper was even there that Piper couldn’t help but be flattered.

“Hi,” Piper answered, smiling a little uncertainly. “Good thing your dad carries backup hearing aids around for you, huh?”

Mariposa nodded shyly, and Piper once again had to master the urge to smush Mariposa’s cheeks, but she was _so cute, what was this witchcraft?_

“Miss Piper?” Mariposa addressed her, (Piper was going to die from the cute at this rate) glancing at Piper’s arm, her little hands outstretched. “Can I see your tattoo again?”

“Oh…sure,” Piper allowed, amused as she let Mariposa take hold of her hand. She seemed really intrigued by the tiny tattoo…

“Daddy, look,” Mariposa whispered, glancing up at Louis as she pointed to the tattoo. “It’s a fox!”

“I see it,” Louis assured her, though he wasn’t actually looking, and was instead contenting himself with smoothing the flyaway hairs from his daughter’s face. That was really cute, too…

‘ _Get a grip,_ ’ Piper ordered herself sternly. It didn’t matter that Louis being a single father was kind of attractive—she had done that song and dance already, and had been booed off the stage before she had even finished. Never again.

“Y’know, Daddy likes foxes,” Mariposa reported to Piper, “even more than butterflies sometimes.”

Piper smiled, though the innocent comment was like a jab to her abdomen.

“Is that so?”

“Uh-huh.” Mariposa began to play with Piper’s hand now, gently pressing down a finger one by one, until there were no more fingers to press down, only to lift them all up again, as if she was playing “This Little Piggy”. “When it’s bedtime, he’ll tell me stories about a fox he knew, a long time ago.”

Mariposa glanced up, and Piper could _swear_ there was something almost _knowing_ in that child’s eyes, though she couldn’t have been older than five.

“He always says that he really liked this fox, but she got away from him, and how he used to look for ways to bring her back—”

“Mari,” Louis suddenly interrupted, and Piper glanced up to see his face reddening as he placed a hand on his daughter’s shoulder. “That’s enough.”

Piper didn’t know why he bothered—she could put two and two together, after all…

“I really should go,” Piper decided, standing up and gently disengaging her hand from Mariposa’s. “I…have some unpacking to do.”

The excuse was lame, and Piper felt lame telling it, but it didn’t matter. She had to get out of here.

“…Oh.” One look at the disappointment on Mariposa’s face, and Piper almost sat right back down again and pledged to give the child whatever she wanted. Damn, this kid was _really_ dangerous.

Piper shook her head and tore her gaze away from Louis and Mariposa, shouldering her bag once again.

“Was nice meeting you,” she made sure to tell Mariposa with a faint smile. She glanced at Louis a moment later, who was already staring at her, looking like he was poised to say something…

“…Take care,” was all he said. And it shouldn’t have hit Piper as hard as it did, that casual dismissal like they were nothing, like they had been nothing. But it did. And she _hated_ that.

Responding with only a nod, Piper turned and began to walk away.

“Miss Piper!”

“Mari—”

Piper turned around again to find Mariposa jumping out of her father’s lap, and running up to her. Her cheeks were flushed, and she looked anxious.

“Um, um…” Mariposa shifted, looking incredibly shy. Pity took hold of Piper, and she crouched down to meet the child’s eyes.

“What is it?” She smiled to put Mariposa at ease. “You can tell me.”

“…” Mariposa didn’t seem to want to speak the words. Instead, she lifted her hands, looking much more comfortable this way as she signed her question:

“ _Will you come play with me again?_ ”

Ah…

Without meaning to, Piper glanced over at Louis again. He was standing in front of the bench, watching them—no, watching Mariposa—anxiously. It made sense: due to the day’s excitement, he probably wouldn’t want to let his daughter out of his sight for very long from now on. Still, it wasn’t like Piper was about to run off with her…he didn’t need to look _that_ worried…

Smiling a little, Piper patted Mariposa’s head.

“We’ll see,” she said, expecting a pout, because she knew kids generally hated any answer that wasn’t ‘yes’.

But Mariposa’s eyes lit up, and before Piper knew it, she was being hugged.

“Thank you!” Mariposa chirped, and Piper patted her back. _So cute._

Louis called for her, and Mariposa let go of Piper, skipping back to her father.

“See you soon, Miss Piper!” She called back to Piper, who couldn’t help but return the adorable child’s smile. Looked like she had inherited a lot of Louis’ charm…

Speaking of him, he was staring at her again. Once upon a time, Piper could guess what he was thinking from one look at his expression…but those days were long gone. Now, only a stranger stared at her, his brows slightly furrowed, as if he was trying to figure _her_ out.

Piper wasn’t about to let him have that chance. She would never give him that chance again, in fact. She resolutely turned her back and walked away, determined to put her past behind her.

If Mariposa wasn’t his daughter, then maybe Piper would’ve made time to play with her…but she _was_ his daughter, and therefore, there was a very slim chance that Piper would ever see her again. It was a shame—she was such a sweet little girl—but Piper was determined. She didn’t want to see Louis, so, by extension, she couldn’t see Mariposa. It wasn’t fair, but then again, since when was life fair?


	3. Good Intentions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ugh. Families, amirite? Always bugging and fussing and meddling. What's their deal?
> 
> Find out below. ;D
> 
> Enjoy! <3
> 
> ~Reyna

His parents and their friends thought they were so slick, but they weren’t. Louis knew what they were trying to do, and it had to stop.

“I have no idea what on earth you mean, sweetheart,” said his mother when Louis confronted her one evening as he helped her wash the dishes after dinner, with Mari being doted on by her grandfather upstairs. The sound of her laughter, no matter how distant, soothed Louis, despite his current irritation with his parents.

“C’mon, Ma,” he huffed, handing her a pot and an aggrieved look. “You really expect me to believe that Piper just _happens_ to be over here whenever you invite me over? Or that whenever Mrs. Cesaire’s computer goes down, Piper just _happens_ to be there when I come over to fix it?”

“What, you don’t believe in coincidences?” Marinette asked innocently, though Louis noticed that she avoided his eyes as she rinsed the pot he’d handed her.

“I may be pretty and blonde, but I’m not dumb, Ma. I know you and the Cesaires are trying to get me and Piper back together.”

“Oh don’t be so paranoid,” Marinette brushed him off, drying her hands. “I promise, Louis, your father and I—nor Piper’s parents—are not trying to—”

The doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it!” Marinette chirped immediately, and Louis’ narrowing eyes followed her out of the kitchen. He waited, soapy fingers drumming on the countertop, unimpressed as his mother’s voice floated back into the kitchen:

“Oh, Alya! And Piper, too! What a nice surprise!”

‘Surprise’ his well-toned ass. Grumbling to himself, Louis wiped his hands on his jeans and stealthily made his way into the garden, taking a moment to breathe. He could hear his mother’s muffled voice, sounding confused as she entered the kitchen and realized he was no longer there. Louis made sure to hide himself behind her biggest shrub when she moved to the door, staring out into the garden, looking for him. After a minute or two, she seemed to give up, and Louis heard apology in her tone, and Mrs. Cesaire’s laughing voice answering. After a moment or two, he risked a glance in—

Piper was right there at the door.

Louis gasped, his heart nearly stopping; he jumped back, breathing heavily, before he realized that Piper hadn’t seen him, and he had just been looking at the back of her. He peeked again, breathing slowly to regulate his heartbeat.

Just past Piper, he could see his mother at the sink again, finishing off the rest of the dishes. Alya stood near her as they laughed and chatted about something, but Piper didn’t seem to be part of the conversation, with the way she leaned against the glass of the garden doors, her phone in her hand as she scrolled through some article she was reading.

It was weird…she was so close that Louis could just…reach out and touch her, if he wanted…

His hand twitched, but Louis ignored it, withdrawing again. He knew his parents and the Cesaires had good intentions, but honestly, Louis was just so tired. He had done everything he could think of to try and get back in Piper’s good graces, once upon a time, but things were different now. He no longer had the time nor the energy to pursue what almost was, or what could have been; he was a father now, and his daughter needed him more than anything.

Speaking of his daughter…if he crept his way carefully through the garden, there was a good chance he could get upstairs, get Mari, and escape without raising too much of a fuss…

Inside, movement from her peripheral vision caught Piper’s attention. She glanced over just in time to see a telltale slinking body ease its way through the garden, the blonde mop on top making it clear who was doing the sneaking.

She raised an eyebrow. Damn, did he think he was slick? Sure, he might have been able to sneak by anybody else, but she had been trained to notice this kind of stuff. Part of her was tempted to pointedly open the door and call him out…but she stayed where she was. Clearly, he wasn’t crazy about seeing her, and she wasn’t exactly thrilled about all the ‘coincidental’ meetings their parents had been setting up lately either, so…

“Piper? Do you see something out there?”

Piper tore her gaze away from the garden to smile blandly at her mother.

“No, Mom. I thought I saw something, but…I guess it was just my imagination.”

 

* * *

 

Piper glanced down at her phone, double-checking to make sure she had the address right. She frowned up at the apartment building, confused. Odd…she had only visited them once before, but she could have sworn that Emma and Lotte lived in a fancier place than this…maybe they moved again?

Shrugging, she entered the building, shooting a text Emma’s way.

‘ _Hey, I’m downstairs._ ’

Emma’s reply came within a couple minutes.

‘ _oh great!!!_ ’

‘ _third floor, apt. 308_ ’

‘ _c u in a minute!!_ ’

Piper smiled, bypassing the elevator and heading for the stairs; she had trained too hard to wait for the elevator like some punk when she was only going to the third floor. In any case, she was glad that Emma had called her: being on break from her job was making her go stir-crazy. She found herself aimlessly wandering around the city more often than not, which sucked when she had nowhere to go and nothing to do. But she couldn’t stay at her parent’s house all the time, or her mother would invite Louis over, and that was just another headache Piper did not need. So when Emma had called her to babysit last-minute because an emergency at work came up—something about one of the mascot suits going missing and being used for nefarious purposes—Piper jumped at the chance to do _anything_ that wouldn’t involve her being alone with her thoughts for too long. And besides, it had been too long since she last saw Nova; she was eager to see how much they’d grown since she’d been gone.

At Apartment #308, Piper stopped and knocked a coded knock on the door. There was some shuffling, and a harried-looking Emma appeared, relief breaking over her face once she spotted Piper.

“Hey! Thank you _so_ much for coming over!” Emma cheered, pulling Piper in for a quick hug. “I am _so_ sorry for the late notice, but everybody else was unavailable, and I panicked—”

“Easy, Em,” Piper assured her with a slight smile; where the hell did she keep all that energy? “I’m happy to help.”

“Okay. Great. Thank you,” Emma said, sighing in relief as she pulled on her jacket. “Okay, so, emergency numbers are on the fridge, just in case something happens, not that I expect anything to happen, and oh, Mari absolutely _cannot_ have shellfish, so nothing with shrimp or the like, but I don’t really think you’d take her to a seafood restaurant or anything, but it’s just good information to have, you know? And if you—”

“Whoa, wait,” Piper cut in, raising her hands as she frowned at Emma, tripped up by the unexpected name Emma used. “You meant Nova, right?”

Emma blinked, pulling her ponytail out of the collar of her jacket.

“Nova? No, Nova’s at school. I’m talking about Mariposa.”

…That’s it, it was official: the Agrestes were out to get her.

“ _Mariposa?_ ” Piper hissed, and then glanced around, wondering if the child was in earshot. When she didn’t see her, she whirled back on Emma. “Emma, I _cannot_ babysit Mariposa.”

“Why not? You agreed before you came over.”

“That’s because I thought you were talking about _Nova!_ ” Piper insisted. “You said when you called—”

“That I needed you to babysit, yeah,” Emma interrupted, looking anxious. “I never said I needed you to babysit _Nova_ though…”

…Oh fuck, she _didn’t._ As a matter of fact, now that Piper was thinking on it, Emma hadn’t once asked her to babysit for _Nova_. Damn it, Piper wasn’t thinking. She should have realized—it was _Friday._ Of _course_ Nova would be at school right now. Ugh, now she had landed herself in _this_ situation, and she wasn’t sure if there was any feasible way to get out of it that didn’t involve leaving Emma wedged in this tight spot…

Her frown must have been too telling; Emma reached forward and patted her shoulder.

“It’ll be okay. I’ve already fed her lunch, so she’s napping right now, but she never stops talking about you. I’m sure you’ll be fine,” Emma said as she grabbed her keys off the counter of—oh god, this was _Louis’_ apartment, Piper was inside of _Louis’_ apartment right now, and she had agreed to this like a _sucker_ —“I’m really sorry to impose, Piper, and if I had _anybody_ else to turn to, you know I would, but you’re _literally_ my last option. So please? Pretty please with sugar on top?”

Oh goddamn it, those goddamn kitten eyes—

Piper heaved a sigh.

“Fine, _fine,_ ” she huffed, folding her arms as she frowned at Emma. “But you owe me for this.”

“Thank you!!” Emma cheered, giving her another strong hug before she bypassed her to get to the door. “Food’s in the fridge, text me if you need anything, be back as soon as I can, bye!”

The door slammed shut behind her, and that was it.

Piper was alone in Louis’ apartment, in charge of babysitting his daughter.

This could only go badly.

‘ _Well,_ ’ thought Piper as she sighed and ruffled her hair, crossing over to the kitchen to see if there was actually food in the fridge, or if she would have to order something to avoid charring any snacks for the child she was suddenly responsible for. ‘ _At least she’s asleep right now—_ ’

“Auntie Emma?”

Piper jumped, slamming the fridge shut instinctively.

Mariposa was standing on the other side, her hair in two braids that were messy from sleep, dressed in a sparkly pink and purple gradient t-shirt with a tulle skirt that looked like it might swallow her, a pink fairy godmother-like bear in her grasp. She jumped, too, at the sudden movement, clutching her teddy bear and looking startled, and Piper cursed inwardly. Holy shit, how had she snuck up on Piper like that?!

For a minute, they just stared at each other.

“M-Miss Piper?” Mariposa asked, rubbing one of her eyes, as if she thought she might still be dreaming. Automatically, Piper sank onto one knee to make herself seem less-threatening, smiling to put the child at ease.

“Hi, Mariposa,” she greeted softly, amused as Mariposa suppressed a yawn. “I’m sorry, did I wake you up?”

Slowly, Mariposa shook her head.

“Where’s Auntie Emma?” She asked, so softly that Piper had to lean in to hear her. When she did that, Mariposa sort of…hid behind her bear. As if Piper was intimidating her. Piper blinked at that, and leaned back. Huh…funny, she didn’t seem to have any trouble with her two weeks ago…had Louis said something about her to Mariposa…?

“…Your aunt had to go,” Piper admitted, cringing a little as she did so. She really, _really_ hoped Mariposa wasn’t the child to cry for hours when a parent wasn’t around… “Something happened at work, so she asked me to watch you until she got back.”

“Oh.” Mariposa lowered her bear a bit so Piper could see her face. “So…you’ll play with me today?”

Ah, right. Mari had wanted to play more, hadn’t she?

“Yep,” Piper confirmed. Mariposa lowered her bear all the way now, smiling that dimple smile of hers that had Piper grinning back at her. Huh…maybe she just had to warm up to Piper again after a bit of time apart. Such a sweet girl.

Another silence fell, causing Piper to shift awkwardly. Okay…this shouldn’t be too hard. She could watch Mariposa for an afternoon…or at least until Emma returned…

“Uh…so…” she began, running a hand through her hair. Oh man, she was so bad at this, and it hadn’t even been five minutes yet.

Mariposa, bless her, didn’t seem to be put-off by Piper’s awkwardness.

“Um…do you wanna play dress-up?” The child suggested, looking hopefully at Piper. The suggestion had relief washing through Piper, as well as a bit of excitement.

“Ah, I loved to play dress-up as a kid,” she said, reminiscing fondly on the days that seemed like a lifetime ago. “I would get into my mom’s make-up and smear blush all over my face, put on all kinds of crazy outfits…”

“Oh,” Mari’s face fell. “I don’t have make-up…”

Piper smirked, plunging a hand into her bag to pull out her make-up bag.

“I do,” she said with a wink, and Mariposa’s whole face lit up.

“Yay! Let’s play!” She enthused, and Piper laughed as Mari half-dragged her back into her room. Whew, thank goodness they had found common ground. Maybe this wouldn’t be as bad as she thought after all.

 

* * *

 

Louis groaned to himself as he hoisted the groceries higher into his arms, rolling his shoulder. He really needed to work on fixing his posture—hunched over his computer all day, every day couldn’t be good for his health. And, though he was trying to ignore it, with every passing day, his screen got a little blurrier. Damn it, he was going to need glasses soon, wasn’t he? And here he thought Hugo had been the only one to inherit the Agreste “bad eyesight” gene. Shit.

As he fumbled with his keys, he could hear giggling coming from the living room, and he smiled. His happy little girl sounded like she was having fun. He had to figure out a way to thank Emma for the last-minute assist…maybe he could return the favor sometime and take Nova for a weekend…he would love it if Mari got to spend more time with her cousins…

He nudged the door open with his shoulder, ready to great the girls with a smile—

Mariposa was standing in front of the couch, bedecked in a tiara and a large feather boa, grinning from ear to ear as she used what looked like a make-up brush to dust rosy circles onto—

Louis froze, staring at the grinning woman perched on his couch.

What was she doing here?

She was _not_ supposed to be here.

And, most importantly—what was she doing with _his_ daughter?

They both looked up at the sound of the door bumping against the wall, and while Piper’s smile dropped, Mariposa’s only grew. She flew at Louis, her arms going around his legs.

“Daddy! You’re home!” She cheered, and Louis hastily fixed his expression, smiling down at Mariposa.

“I’m home, baby girl.” Carefully sidestepping his daughter, Louis set the groceries on the counter, watching Piper from his peripheral vision. “Mari, can you be a good girl and go play in your room for a while? Daddy has to talk to Miss Piper.”

“Aww, but…” Mari shifted her feet, pouting, but thankfully did as Louis said…but not before giving Piper a hug. Louis felt his mouth tighten. “Thank you, Miss Piper! Come play with me again soon!”

“Oh, sure,” Piper agreed, seeming startled, but she smiled at Mari before she skipped off to her room, happy as anything.

For just a moment, Louis hesitated.

He didn’t know why Piper was here, but it seemed like Mari had enjoyed her company today, if the matching feather boa and crown Piper wore was any indication. He had never seen his daughter take a shine to anyone so fast before, and she seemed truly happy with Piper’s presence…

If it was anyone else— _anyone_ else—Louis would be happy that his daughter was happy.

But it wasn’t anyone else.

It was Piper.

And it meant that Louis had to nip this in the bud, right now.

“Piper,” Louis began slowly, dropping his keys on the counter before he stepped forward, his voice low. “What are you doing here?”

“…Oh,” Piper began, looking a little embarrassed as she plucked at the feather boa, unwinding it from her neck and removing the crown from her head. “Well, Emma called me. She had an emergency at work that she couldn’t get out of, so she asked me to babysit.”

So Emma did this? Louis was going to have to have words with his big sister later…but one problem at a time.

Louis folded his arms, feeling himself frown.

“Why would you agree to babysit Mari?”

Piper blinked at him.

“…Well, I thought she meant Nova at first, but, she was kind of in a tight spot—”

“You shouldn’t have agreed to do it,” Louis cut her off roughly. “Not without asking me first.”

Piper stared at him, a dangerous glint beginning to spark in her eyes.

“Well excuse me for helping out a friend,” she huffed, her hands going to rest on her hips. “I don’t know why you’re so upset when me babysitting your daughter was ultimately helping _you_ out—”

“I’m upset because Mariposa is _my_ daughter, and I did _not_ agree to have _you_ babysitting her,” Louis snapped. Piper stared at him like he had lost his mind, but he didn’t care. This was unacceptable.

“What the hell is your _problem?_ ” Piper wanted to know, her hands balling into fists as she glared at him. “I was doing you a favor, you ungrateful jackass!”

“I didn’t _ask_ for this favor! I don’t want you around my daughter!”

Piper made an offended noise, her mouth open in outrage.

“What the hell is _that_ supposed to mean?!”

“It means that I don’t want you getting close to my daughter!” Louis burst out. “Mari not having her mother is bad enough, but I will _not_ let you get close to her just for you to leave her like you left me!”

Piper appeared on the verge of an angry retort, standing on her tip-toes in what Louis could only assume was an attempt to look taller, but once Louis’ words seemed to sink in, her expression changed, the anger slowly melting away, leaving nothing but shock. She sank back down onto the balls of her feet, simply staring at him.

Louis hated how surprised she looked. What, did she really think she had been the victim all this time? Didn’t she stop to ponder, for one minute, that _maybe_ he had been hurt as much as she had when everything between them had fallen apart? Perhaps even more? Or had she been too wrapped up in her own wounds to realize that cutting off all contact with him had cut him deep as well?

Louis stared her down, breathing heavy, daring her with his eyes to claim that she was the wronged party, that _he_ was the bad guy all along. He dared her to say that he had broken her heart worse than she had broken his, that she had spent more nights sleepless than he had, missing her so much that he physically _ached._ He _dared_ her to say that he was overreacting, that his fear of his daughter becoming attached to someone who had hurt him in the past wasn’t warranted. _He dared her to tell him that he was wrong._

Piper said nothing at all. She just stared at him, her cheeks seeming to glow red…or maybe it was just all that blush Mari had brushed on her face. Louis couldn’t really tell, but he didn’t really care, either. He turned away from her, grabbing the nearest bag of groceries for something to do.

“You should go now.” It wasn’t a suggestion.

There was a moment’s pause…and then Piper’s footsteps crossed the living room, over to the door. It shut quietly behind her, and only then did Louis allow himself to relax, breathing out his anxiety as he slumped over the counter, abruptly exhausted.

A line had been crossed here today, but he was going to make sure it never happened again. He was going to have to speak to Emma, to make her understand that what she did was not okay, work emergency or not. And he was going to have to find a way to explain to Mariposa that Piper would not be coming to play with her again. One of these conversations would be significantly easier than the other.

Louis sighed again, closing his eyes as he rested his forehead on his crossed arms.

Being a father was hard, a single father even more so. He was lucky to have been blessed with a loving family who supported him every step of the way, but some days, he was just so tired.

But he would deal with it today, because he knew that it would be the only day he would ever have to come home to find Piper with his pride and joy ever again. She had already soured his past—Louis wouldn’t let her ruin his future, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bleh. Humble pie doesn't really taste good, does it, Piper?
> 
> We'll see how she deals with this mess next time. :D
> 
> Hope you enjoyed! <3
> 
> ~Reyna


	4. Common Ground

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas!
> 
> Have some angst. :D
> 
> ~Reyna

            Piper stared into her glass of bourbon, as if all the answers to her current problems lay at the bottom of the glass, and all she had to do was down the bourbon to reach them. Should’ve been easy enough—she loved bourbon. But what she was afraid of…was that she wouldn’t like the answers she came to.

            She sighed, slumping over instead. This would probably net her strange looks from the other patrons, but she was past caring at this point. She had problems, so what? That wasn’t anybody else’s business but hers.

            It had been a couple weeks, but Louis’ voice was still ringing in her head. It refused to leave her alone, no matter what she did, who she was talking to, always that same haunting accusation:

            _“Mari not having her mother is bad enough, but I will_ not _let you get close to her just for you to leave her like you left me!”_

            Piper groaned.

            She never meant…well, okay, yes, she meant to hurt Louis. But only because he had hurt her first! Sure, he _claimed_ that he hadn’t known that he and Luna were still together when he had hooked up with Piper, but looking at his behavior now, how could Piper be sure? What if that night was just his origin story in turning into a slut? Oh god, what if _Piper_ was responsible for bringing that out in him??

            ‘ _Well that would be a great legacy,_ ’ Piper mused bitterly, downing the rest of her glass and tapping the bar for another one. ‘ _Hey Mari, did you know I’m sort of the reason your daddy can’t keep a significant other for more than two weeks at a time? See, it all started with his ex-girlfriend Luna—_ ’

            "Piper?"

            Piper jumped, turning on the bar stool to see a ghost from the past smiling widely at her.

            Speak of the Devil…

            “Ohmygod!” Luna gushed, bouncing her way over to Piper and throwing her arms around her former roommate with reckless abandon. “How _are_ you?! It’s been _ages!_ Where have you been? What have you been up to? How is—”

            “Luna,” Piper interrupted in that painstaking way she had learned to do when Luna began to ramble, “one question at a time, please. Also, you’re kinda smothering me.”

            “Oops!”

            Luna let go, plopping down on the stool next to Piper. She looked good, Piper mused—still pretty and preppy, but there was a certain glow about her too, one that could only be identified as ‘true happiness’. Whatever she had been up to in Piper’s absence, the past five years had been good to Luna. Piper almost envied her…but the days of her being jealous of Luna were long past.

            “So how are you?” Luna asked again after she had ordered a drink from the bartender, clearly intending to join Piper. “When did you get back into town?”

            “A month ago,” Piper replied, accepting the bourbon refill gratefully. Eager to be out of the spotlight/hot seat, she switched to Luna’s favorite topic: Luna. “So what have you been up to?”

            “Oh, a _million_ things,” Luna assured her, and Piper allowed the static that was Luna’s chatter to buzz in her ear for a few minutes as she sipped at her bourbon, contemplating her dilemma some more. Just what was she going to do about Louis? _Could_ anything be done to reconcile this ice between them? _Should_ she be the one to make the first move at an attempt at friendship again? Did she even _want_ to be friends with him again…?

            “…And then there’s my next children’s book I’ve been working on, and I’m certain Mariposa will _love_ it, since she apparently inherited Louis’ love of butterflies—”

            Piper choked on her bourbon.

            “Y-you know about Mariposa…?” Piper asked after Luna had given her a helpful thump on her back to clear her airway. Luna blinked.

            “Of course I know about Mariposa,” she said, and just as Piper was beginning to panic, she added, “I’m her godmother, after all.”

            …Godmother?

            “Godmother?”

            “Yeah! Isn’t that sweet? Louis asked me just after she was dropped on his doorstep. We’re still good friends, you know.” Luna paused, sipping from the tiny straw that came with her umbrella drink as she gave Piper a searching look. “…Caught you by surprise, huh? That Louis has a kid, I mean.”

            ‘Surprise’ wasn’t exactly the right word, but Piper nodded along anyway, taking a more cautious sip of her drink now. Luna nodded thoughtfully.

            “Same.” She wrinkled her nose. “I mean, considering his track record, I guess it was only a matter of time before he got some poor girl pregnant…but still, it’s kind of hard to believe. I never would’ve guessed he’d wind up a single father.”

            “Preaching to the choir,” Piper said dryly, and Luna grinned.

            “Right, right.” She bumped Piper’s shoulder with hers. “Still, I’m glad you and Louis are friends again! I know how hard it was for you, considering everything that happened with you and him and me and him, but—”

            “Friends?” Piper interrupted again, snorting without humor as she swirled her glass, staring bleakly at the bourbon splashing about. “Who said we were friends?”

            This seemed to draw Luna up short; her eyebrows raised, and she tilted her head to the side.

            “…Huh? But, if you know about Mariposa—”

            “My parents are friends with his parents, remember?” Piper pointed out, choosing not to divulge the debacle that was her discovering Mariposa on her own. No need to drag all that information out into the open…

            “Oh, right.” Luna drummed her fingers on the bar, clearly chewing over something she was dying to ask. Piper waited, knowing that Luna’s patience would give out sooner rather than later—

            Sure enough, in just a couple minutes, she cracked.

            “Have you met Mariposa?”

            “Yes,” Piper admitted, automatically smiling at the thought of the adorable girl Louis had helped produce. “She’s precious.”

            “She is, isn’t she?” Luna gushed immediately, her hands on her cheeks and stars in her eyes. “Honestly, the moment I saw her, I almost asked Louis to be a sperm donor for Emily and me…but considering our history, it might’ve been a little too inappropriate. Besides, from what I heard of what Louis was like as a child, I don’t think I could’ve handled a kid he spawned. No offense to my beloved goddaughter, though.”

            Piper snorted.

            “Yeah, he was kind of a terror…” She sighed, folding her arms to rest atop the bar, staring at nothing. “Then again, I was right there causing trouble with him, so I can’t really talk…”

            Silence fell, and Piper became moodier than ever. Why did she do this to herself? She knew it would only hurt her to reminisce on the past, so why did she insist on doing it anyway? Why couldn’t she just move on?

            “…I actually hate this,” Luna commented, surprising Piper; she was never one to speak very negatively about anything…at least, not directly. She turned to find Luna frowning at her, wrinkling her perfect skin. “Do you know I feel _guilty_ that you and Louis aren’t friends anymore?”

            Piper raised her eyebrows.

            “Why? He cheated on _you,_ remember?”

            “Well, yeah,” Luna agreed, waving a hand casually through the air as if that was a minor detail. “But honestly, we were over a long time ago, and…well, maybe I should’ve just admitted it before everything happened. I mean, I’ve had time to think about it now, and really? What kind of girlfriend just lets her boyfriend fall by the wayside for that long? What was I expecting to happen, for him to sweep in on a white horse with a dozen roses and beg my forgiveness?”

            “…Weren’t you?” Piper asked when Luna paused. She gave a guilty grin.

            “Well, maybe a little. But I’ve grown up.” Luna cleared her throat, adopting a serious look as she laid a hand on Piper’s shoulder. “I don’t blame you for what happened, and I’m not mad at Louis for what he did anymore.”

            “…Well, that’s great for you, Luna,” Piper said, feeling a stab of shame. If _Luna_ , arguably the most wronged party in this scenario, could get over it, then why couldn’t Piper? “But you know it wasn’t your fault either, right?”

            “Maybe it wasn’t _all_ my fault, but I’m not exactly innocent, either,” Luna countered, holding up a hand when Piper opened her mouth to protest. “No, stop. Listen, we were kids, okay? We all made stupid mistakes. But you and Louis have been friends since you were in _diapers._ That’s a _really_ long history to just throw away, don’t you think?”

            How the hell had the night turned into Louis’ ex-girlfriend trying to talk Piper into making up with him? What the hell kind of twist of fate was this?

            Piper downed the rest of her bourbon once again for a little extra courage as she turned to face Luna.

            “Luna,” she began in a friendly but firm tone, “while I appreciate what you’re trying to do—it’s sweet, really, if not a little pushy—I just don’t think it’ll work. I mean, I don’t even know if I still _want_ to be friends with Louis anymore.”

            “Why?”

            “I don’t know,” Piper replied, throwing her hands up in frustration. “Have you considered that maybe we have nothing in common anymore? I mean, he’s a _father_ now, and I’m—” Piper paused before she said anything damaging, shook her head, and worked around the roadblock. “I just…maybe it’s better that we’re not friends. Maybe it’s time to just…move on.”

            It was easier said than done, of course. But Piper would die before she would admit it out loud.

            Luna’s lower lip jutted out in a pout. Piper flashed back to high school, to the times where Luna would flash that pout at Louis and ended up getting whatever she wanted. Back then, it had made Piper red, blue, and green with anger, sadness, and jealousy, respectively, to see her best friend/crush twisted so effortlessly around someone else’s finger. Now, she couldn’t help but find her college roommate/friend adorable. In another life, maybe it would’ve been her who was twisted around one of those slim pinky fingers instead of Louis…

            “…Oh, all right,” Luna huffed, giving up, much to the surprise of Piper; for a second, she was sure she was going to have to talk Luna out of whatever pep rally she might be planning to get her and Louis to make up. “If you don’t wanna make it work, fine. I can’t force you. I just think it’d be nice for us all to clear the air, once and for all.”

            She paused, looking at Piper hopefully. But Piper only shook her head.

            “Let it be,” she insisted, and Luna let out a dramatic sigh.

            “Fine, fine, _fine._ Well, at least let me buy you lunch this week. How’s Wednesday?”

 

* * *

 

            Unbeknownst to most of the world, Piper was a soldier of sorts, trained in the ways of covert missions and the like. Her knowledge of stings, undercover ops and set-ups were vast and effective, so one would _think_ she would be able to tell when she herself was being set up.

            And yet…

            “Piper! Over here!” Luna called, waving eagerly from one of the tables in the crowded bistro. Piper returned the wave as she edged around the bustling waiters, inwardly cringing at the fancy setting. If only she had known the dress code before she’d come out…well, at least Luna had agreed to treat her.

            She was almost to the table when the aisle cleared and she realized that Luna was not alone—sitting on her right was none other than Louis Agreste, a fork halfway to his mouth as he sat there, slack-jawed and staring. Piper halted in her tracks, and a busboy had to swerve around her to avoid a collision of dishes. Piper took one moment to gape in horror at Louis before her narrowing eyes found Luna, who looked completely unapologetic. Of course.

            Piper could’ve kicked herself. She should’ve _known_ something was up. If this was a meeting set up by an iffy third party, she probably would be dead by now. Stupid, stupid, _stupid._

            Part of her told her to just leave. She was in no way obligated to join them when Luna had set up this meeting under false pretenses, and she _dared_ Luna to try and make her stay…but the other part of her remained rooted to the spot. Not only would her pride be shot—Louis had already seen her, so if she left now, it would be like she was running away—but she had had a couple nights to think over Luna’s words. She thought of the times where she and Louis were thick as thieves, getting into all kinds of mischief together, as if they ruled the world and no one could stop them. She thought of the times where they had been at their most vulnerable, sharing their closely guarded secrets with only each other, assured in the fact that they could trust each other beyond a shadow of a doubt. And, though she didn’t want to…she thought of _that night_ , that one night, the last night they had together, before everything had been turned on its head and ripped apart, possibly beyond repair…

            Piper missed him. That was the conclusion she had come to. She missed her best friend. She missed talking to Louis, joking with him, being with him. She had been hurt by him, yes, but she had hurt him, too. There were broken hearts all around here…but…if there was a chance, no matter how small, that they could possibly heal—if there was a chance that she and Louis could maybe get back to how they were before, before something as stupid as _feelings_ got in the way and ruined everything—

            Piper took a very deep breath, and squared her shoulders. If she ran from this now, then she would spend the rest of her life running, not just from this situation, but from every other difficult situation in her life from then on. And that was just a bad precedent to set. So she hitched on her Big Girl pants and marched her way over to the table, determined.

            She was not the least bit surprised when Louis tried to run. After all, he had been ambushed as thoroughly as she had, so she didn’t blame him for trying to escape. It still hurt to see him shove his chair back and try to make a run for it, but still…

            He didn’t get very far—quick as lightning, Luna seized him by the back of his shirt, and hauled him right back into his seat, all without seeming to break a nail. Admittedly, Piper was impressed.

            “And just where do you think you’re going?” Luna asked in a voice so sweet it was poisonous. Piper watched as Louis swallowed reflexively, eyeing Luna warily.

            “Is it me, or did you get stronger ever since you realized you were a lesbi—ow!” He cut off, wincing and rubbing his arm where Luna had pinched him. She merely gave him a bright smile before turning to Piper.

            “Sit down, Piper. I want to talk to you and Louis for a bit.”

            “Well, I don’t really wanna get pinched, so…” Piper trailed off awkwardly, taking a seat on Luna’s left. Sitting in front of Louis like this was uncomfortable, but she bore it. Giving Luna her full attention made it easier. Luna cleared her throat primly before she addressed the both of them.

            “Okay. So, here are the facts: Piper’s back in town, probably for good, and you two are still not talking to each other. Is this the situation as we know it?”

            She sounded like a lawyer. Piper almost wanted to smile…but now was not the time.

            “In a nutshell,” she agreed when Louis didn’t. Luna nodded importantly, folding her hands under her chin as she rested her elbows on the table, her gaze bouncing in between Louis and Piper.

            “So what can we do to fix that?”

            Louis muttered something under his breath, and Luna turned to him with a quirked brow.

            “I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that.”

            Louis huffed, avoiding Piper’s gaze by staring over her head, his brows scrunched together.

            “This isn’t necessary, Luna.”

            “Oh, I think it is,” Luna disagreed, pressing a finger to Louis’ lips when he opened his mouth to disagree with her disagreement. Funny how that used to make Piper seethe with jealousy. Now she just found it funny, especially when it was coupled with the dumbstruck look on Louis’ face. “Listen, this conversation has been a long time coming. So let me just talk, and then you guys can figure out what you want to do from there, okay?”

            “Luna, I _do_ have a daughter I should be taking care of—”

            “Then stop interrupting me, and this will go much faster. Ahem.” Luna folded her hands on the table next, closing her eyes briefly, as if she needed a moment to marshal her thoughts. “So. I wanted to say that I’m sorry to the both of you.”

            “It’s not your—” Now it was Piper’s turn to get a finger to her lips, and she raised her eyebrows when Luna added the accompanying shush.

            “As I was saying,” she continued on forcefully, flipping her perfect ponytail off her shoulder, “I wanted to say I’m sorry for the part I played in breaking up your friendship. I never meant to hurt either of you, and I’m sorry I acted so childishly.” She paused, and then let out a breath. “Whew. You have _no_ idea how good that feels to say!”

            “Well I’m so glad you could assuage your guilty conscience with this conversation,” Louis said dryly. Without meaning to, Piper snorted.

            “Do you even know what ‘assuage’ means?” She asked, unable to help herself. Louis frowned at her.

            “I read,” he protested. When Piper raised her eyebrows, his only furrowed closer together. “I do!”

            “Since when?” Piper teased. Louis scowled, laying his palms flat on the table as he leaned forward, his eyes intense.

            “Fight me,” he said so seriously that Piper couldn’t help but burst into laughter. She sobered quickly, however, at the smug look on Luna’s face.

            “See?” She said in a superior tone. “And what was that about you having nothing in common anymore?” She waved a careless hand in between them. “Looks to me that not much has changed.”

            Luna might have a point…but that wasn’t the disturbing part. The disturbing part was how _easy_ it had been to fall back into a rhythm with Louis, as if nothing truly had changed between them. Piper looked at him, finding the same disquiet in his eyes that was currently twisting her insides into a knot. Surely it couldn’t be _that_ easy, could it? Sure, they had been friends for years, but…still…so much had changed between them as well. Nothing could ever _truly_ be the same…could it?

            An awkward silence fell at the table, but the waiters here apparently had impeccable timing; just as things were getting uncomfortable, one swooped in and asked if Piper was ready to order. Luna sighed, as if she was being put-out by the pair of them.

            “Oh, all right. I did say I’d buy you lunch…let’s just try and get through that first, shall we?”

 

* * *

 

            All things considered, it could have been worse. There were plenty of awkward pauses and uncomfortable silences, sure, but nothing ever got too stifling. As mad as Louis was at Luna for ambushing him like that without a moment’s notice, he had to admit, she made a good buffer for him and Piper.

            Piper…

            She was standing near him, just a couple steps away, waiting, like him, for the crosswalk to turn green. As soon as they crossed the street, they would be going in different directions, and they wouldn’t be seeing each other again until the next ambush, because apparently, _everyone_ was determined to make him and Piper talk to each other. First their parents, and now Luna…nowhere was safe.

            Louis didn’t even dare tell his own daughter that he saw Piper today; for weeks, Mariposa had been asking when Miss Piper would come play with her again, and at every evasive answer Louis gave her, she seemed to grow sadder and sadder. It tore at Louis’ heart—he _hated_ to see his baby girl so sad. But at the same time, it was _Piper._ How could he live with himself if he let Piper into his daughter’s life— _really_ let her in—and she decided one day that she had had her fun and skipped away, leaving his daughter just as heartbroken as he had been, if not more?

            Goddamn it, if this damn crosswalk light didn’t _fucking turn green already_ —

            “For the record—”

            Louis startled, not expecting Piper to speak. They had been silent ever since Luna had left them behind to ‘sort out their issues themselves’ after seeming to give up on them for the day; he had no idea why she was choosing to address him _now_ , when they were so close to freedom…

            He looked at her, and Piper was looking over at him, looking as chagrined as he felt.

            “I had no idea you’d be here today,” she finished. Louis blinked, and then slowly nodded.

            “Oh. Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “Me neither.”

            Piper nodded, her expression turning wry.

            “I could tell by the way you tried to make a break for it,” she said. Louis had the decency to blush and hang his head in shame.

            “Reflex reaction,” he mumbled, knowing that it wasn’t a good reason, but having nothing else to give. He glanced at her from his peripheral vision. “Besides, the look on your face…you looked like you were coming to kill me.”

            “Did I?” Piper asked, the news rounding her eyes. Huh…apparently, she had had no idea. “Oh, I was just…determined, is all.”

            “About what?”

            Piper didn’t answer right away; she took her time, smoothing her hair back, which was beginning to curl as it steadily grew back. It was…actually a really cute look on her—

            ‘ _Don’t go there, you slut,_ ’ Louis scolded himself. Now was not the time—he was a father now, his ho phase was officially over. Besides, it was _Piper._ Despite everything that had happened between them, he couldn’t do that to her. That was how they’d gotten in this mess in the first place.

            Piper glanced up at him, her eyes looking troubled.

            “…Louis?” She began, saying his name in such a vulnerable way that it stirred something _protective_ in him, “I…I didn’t mean to hurt you. I mean, I know I did, and I thought I wanted to…but I didn’t want to. Not really. I…I was just so angry, and I…”

            She closed her eyes and looked away from him, which Louis was grateful for, because he _couldn’t_ look away from her, not as long as she held his gaze. Once he was free of it, he took a moment to breathe, because such a simple task had suddenly become difficult. He looked away, rubbing at one of his ever-sore shoulders. All he had wanted to do was cross the street, but now, he was finding it difficult not to tear up. Why did she have to do this _now?_

            …Fuck it. Since they were here already…

            “I just don’t understand how you couldn’t trust me,” he muttered for her ears only as the crosswalk light finally turned green, and others that waited with them passed them by, some of them grumbling that they were holding up foot traffic. They could bite Louis, though—he was kind of having a moment here. He turned to fully face Piper, because if they were going to have this conversation, they were going to have it properly. “Piper, when have I _ever_ given you reason to believe that I would hurt you on purpose like that?”

            “…Never,” Piper admitted with a sigh, turning to face him too with an anxious expression, her arms folded tightly, as if to protect herself. “I didn’t say I was rational, Louis. I was angry—”

            “For _weeks?_ ” Louis pointed out, stepping closer as Piper looked away again. He would not be ignored this time, though. He refused. “Do you know how I felt? Texting and calling you and never getting an answer? I thought something had happened to you, because I thought there was no way you wouldn’t answer me without an explanation…and then you wouldn’t let me see you, and you had _Luna_ of all people tell me what was really going on—”

            “I didn’t _want_ to see you, Louis,” Piper interrupted with a huff, as if _he_ was being unreasonable. “That doesn’t mean you hop a bus to my college and come over—”

            “You wouldn’t answer me any other way! What was I _supposed_ to do, send a carrier pigeon?”

            “I’m sorry, okay?” Piper burst out, running her hands through her hair with a huff. “I get it already—”

            “You don’t get it at all,” Louis cut across her, feeling years of sadness, of hurt and frustration finally reach breaking point and spill out. “You were the _one_ person I knew I could tell anything and everything to, the _one_ person I thought would never end up hurting me. But you never even gave me a chance to _explain._ You just shut me out and walked away, like I was _nothing_ , like we were—”

            Louis stopped himself before he said anything that would rehash that one night they spent together, the last night, the night that was apparently a mistake. If he could take it all back…would he?

            “…You know what the really fucked up thing is?” He asked when he had calmed down a bit. Piper wasn’t looking at him, and so Louis reached forward, a hand smoothing across her cheek. His touch seemed to surprise her; she jerked her head up without his guidance, and it was he who held her gaze this time, he who refused to let her look away. He wouldn’t let her run from this. Not again. “The fucked up thing is that I still _miss_ you. There are nights where I can’t even _sleep_ because I miss you so bad.”

            A tear glided down Piper’s cheek, sliding down Louis’ thumb when it made contact. He tried not to focus on it, but it was hard, especially since he felt like he should be the one crying.

            “…I miss you too,” she admitted quietly, the rest of the city fading away at those words.

            In that moment, Louis almost surrendered. He almost fell to his knees and almost begged Piper to stay with him, to never go anywhere without him ever again.

            In that moment, Louis almost gave up every bit of growth he had struggled and fought for in the past five years.

            But all it took was the image of a little girl with eyes just like his to give him the strength to step back, to pull his hand away, to breathe. Piper lifted a hand, as if she was going to grab his before he could draw back, but then she lowered it. Louis appreciated it; if she touched him, if she said anything to make him stay, then his resolve would be shaken rather badly. He watched her grimly, her beautiful eyes full of unshed tears. He hated to make her cry. He really did. But if he didn’t get this all out, once and for all, it would only continue to haunt him for the rest of his life. Hurt feelings or not…this needed to be said.

            “…I can’t trust you,” Louis said quietly, _hating_ the way Piper’s expression broke, the way more tears fell from her eyes, despite her attempt to duck her head to hide it. “I wish I could. But I can’t. Because I don’t know when you’ll decide to leave again. And I have too much at stake this time to let you in again. I’m sorry. But I just can’t do this, Piper.”

           Piper muffled a sob, and Louis felt something inside him break. He hated this. He hated this so much. Never in a million years would he have thought that things would come to this between him and Piper. Why did this have to happen? What malevolent deity decided that wrenching them apart like this would be amusing?

           Part of him wanted to run again, but he couldn’t seem to get his feet to move. And so he had to stand there, in the horrible silence that was broken only by passerby shuffling by and Piper’s sniffling. After the longest moment of his life, Piper seemed to get herself together enough to speak.

           “…I understand,” she said, shocking Louis.

           Wait…she was accepting it? Just like that?

           Where was the Piper that challenged him when he made stupid decisions? Where was the Piper who wouldn’t give up until she had done all she could to try and talk him out of his stupid decisions? Where was the Piper who never went down without a fight?

           As he stood there, floundering, Piper let out a slow breath, giving him a shaky smile.

          “Really, I get it,” she assured him; his surprise must be obvious on his face. “If I were in your shoes, I wouldn’t want my kid anywhere near me, either. And Mariposa’s such a sweetheart. I…I don’t want to hurt her, either. Or you. So, if this is the way it has to be…”

          Piper pressed her lips together, as if she was preventing herself from saying something; it seemed like she couldn’t face actually saying goodbye. (She was never good at that.) And so she merely nodded, turning away to finally cross the street. Louis watched her go, and the realization that she was literally walking out of his life again hit him. Hard.

          But this was what he wanted—without Piper, there was no risk of Mariposa getting hurt the way he got hurt. Without Piper, Mariposa wouldn’t have a make-up buddy…she wouldn’t be able to play dress-up or sign with someone that wasn’t family…he would never see her eyes light up again at the mention of foxes of any kind, because his little girl was just too clever, and now, just like him, whenever she saw foxes, she would think of—

          “Piper!”

          She had already reached the sidewalk on the other side of the street; the sound of her name seemed to startle her, for she jumped a little before turning to him with wide eyes, tear tracks streaking down her face. The sight of them killed Louis, and it pushed the next words out of his mouth:

          “Do you…wanna have coffee sometime and talk?” He asked, making a helpless gesture, because that’s what he was: helpless. Damned if he was with her, and damned if he let her go. It was so unfair; he really couldn’t win.

          Piper stared at him for a long moment, as if she suspected he might take it back. When he didn’t, however…she let out a small sigh, and the tiniest of smiles curved her lips.

          Louis was hit in the chest again, but for a different reason entirely. With the force of the blow, he nearly missed her answer:

          “I’d like that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah so I hate them for giving me feels but dAMN IT IF IT ISN'T FUN TO WRITE WITH THEM. ;_;
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy your holidays! <3
> 
> ~Reyna


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